By Jessica Anstice
Casey Cardinia Tourism Advisory Committee has successfully transitioned to an independent, skills-based, regional tourism board called the Casey Cardinia Region Tourism Organisation.
An official thank you and celebration function was held at Bunjil Place on Wednesday, 22 August evening.
In 2013, Cardinia Shire Council adopted a tourism strategy, which led to the creation of a committee.
Cardinia Shire Council and City of Casey came together in partnership and formed the Casey Cardinia Tourism Advisory Committee to enable a regional focus for tourism.
“The strategy that evolved from this partnership was not limited to our own backyard and addressed broader regional needs,” Cardinia mayor Collin Ross said.
“The leadership of the committee members and their insights in the tourism industry has enabled council to make some great decisions around how we support tourism in our region.”
Council recently adopted the Casey Cardinia Visitation Strategy 2017–20 to encourage the establishment of tourism activities and facilities in appropriate areas of the shire.
Led by industry and supported by both councils, the strategy provides a strong plan to strengthen the region’s tourism industry and provide opportunities for tourism operators and affiliated businesses.
As part of the strategy, the advisory has formed the Casey Cardinia Region Tourism Organisation, in replacement.
The new board comprises of chairwoman Cathy Main, Chris Russell, Kristina Burke, Mark Jouvelet, Adam Khan, Robynne O’Halloran, Richard Sherman, Michael Johnson, Cr Leticia Wilmot and Cr Amanda Stapledon.
City of Casey mayor Geoff Ablett said the visitor economy provides broad employment local opportunities for residents, and its strong 7.6 per cent year on year growth shows great promise for the future.
“The combination of dedicated people and our broad range of current and planned tourism assets, means that we can be confident in our abilities to take advantage of this growth,” he said.
“This industry is worth $24.8 billion dollars to Victoria’s economy and with 8.7 per cent growth year on year, it’s vital that our region take bold steps to grow our slice of the pie.
“Victoria’s visitor economy is growing, and it’s growing fast.”
Former chairman Chris Buckingham said his time on the advisory has been a great journey and the new board are a talented group of people.
Current chairwoman Cathy Main said she is thrilled and feels privileged to be part of an exciting future for the Casey Cardinia tourism economy.
“We have had a great start with the creation of the new board comprising depth and breadth of experience and knowledge with a focus to take the newly created visitation strategy to implement over the months and years to come,” Ms Main said.
“Our purpose is to sustainably grow the Casey Cardinia visitor economy. Our overarching organisation strategy is to provide the leadership, direction and inspiration to grown the visitor economy by partnering and collaborating with our key stakeholders.
“It will be a busy year but getting the foundations right will set the correct direction and pathway for future years.”
Cr Amanda Stapledon was on the advisory committee and will continue in the organisation.
“I’m really excited. We have done some serious planning already,” she said.
“We have a group of the most experienced and diverse people. It would have to be the best in Victoria, if not, Australia.
“Everyone on the board is there for the same reason with the same passion and commitment and we want people to come and find out what Casey and Cardina is all about.”
